Horror, Hope, and Healing
by vintage1955
Summary: The viciousness of war once again rears its ugly head.


**Horror, Hope, and Healing**

(A Rat Patrol Fanfiction by Stillvintage55, aka vintage55)

Sergeant Sam Troy walked into the mess tent at 7 AM at the Rat Patrol's base at Ras Tanura, intent for some breakfast that wasn't rations for a change. The four men of the Rat Patrol had completed their most recent mission, and had arrived back at the base at

2 AM.

Sam noticed that the other three Rats had not yet appeared for breakfast, but he was not surprised. By the time they would have restocked the jeeps and then showered the gritty desert sand off their bodies, and hit the sack, it was probably close to 4 AM.

Sam took a plate of powdered eggs and some fried Spam for himself, topping it all off with some toast and a banana and a huge mug of black coffee. He did not mind sitting alone. He had been awake most of the night, unable to fully unwind despite his own fatigue, and having some strange dreams every time he dozed off. He was puzzled about the dreams, as this last mission had been long, but very routine and quite monotonous.

They had driven to the perimeter of the Allied lines, in search of any evidence of German encroachment, but they saw no evidence of new troop movements or incursions into Allied territory.

He was chomping down the last of his toast when Captain Boggs' aide, Corporal Dewey Lewis spotted Troy and made a beeline to his table.

"Sergeant Troy, the Captain wants to see all four of you guys in his office at 10 AM today."

Troy sighed. He was still exhausted, and he was hoping the Rat Patrol could have the day to catch up on sleep, which he knew they all needed.

"Okay, Dewey, the others are still sleeping, but we'll all be there at 10 o'clock sharp."

Troy thought to himself, I hope it's not another tedious border patrol. He knew such routine patrols were necessary, but a scouting plane in the air could accomplish in two hours what would take the Rat Patrol two days by jeep.

Just as Troy was getting up to leave, Jack Moffitt entered the mess hall, grabbed some toast and tea, and walked over to Sam's table. " 'Morning, Sam…did you get any sleep last night?"

"Some…How about you?"

Moffitt replied, "Well, I'm not sure if it was a long nap or a short night, but it will have to do, I expect. Did I just see Dewey Lewis in here?"

"Yeah, we all have a meeting with Captain Boggs at 10 o'clock. Have you seen Hitch or Tully yet today?"

"No, not yet, Sam. Would you like me to make sure they're awake? It's almost nine, so if we all have to be at another blasted meeting at 10, I'd be happy to be the one to roust them."

Troy laughed, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea! I'll meet you at Captain Boggs' office at 10."

At 10 AM sharp, the four members of the Rat Patrol sat in Captain Boggs' office, waiting for what they expected would be their next mission assignment.

"I know you all had a short night, but I have an important mission for all of you," Boggs began. "G2 has confirmed the presence of a new facility about 50 kilometers southwest of Benghazi. We're not exactly sure what the Germans are doing there, but we have evidence that large quantities of poisonous chemicals are being delivered there by rail. We think it could be for manufacturing chemical bombs or other such weapons. Nearby Arab villages have reported strong odors and the dumping of many animal carcasses in nearby caves and trash dumps. We suspect that these waste products are originating from this new facility."

"So, what's our mission in all of this, Captain?" Troy asked, always trying to get to the point in these meetings.

Boggs sat down at his desk, looking at the four members of the Rat Patrol. "I want the four of you to get into the camp, as best you can, and write down the names of whatever chemicals you find, what lab facilities, and any evidence of product testing on either animals or humans. I can't emphasize strongly enough that these chemicals are likely highly toxic, so you need to avoid being directly exposed, if possible."

Jack Moffitt frowned, "Will we be supplied with gas masks or antitoxins in the event that we are exposed?"

Captain Boggs sighed. "All I can promise you is that medical treatment will be available as soon as you return to base. I could give you a better answer if we knew exactly what chemicals are in there. That's one reason we're asking you men to find out what's going on in there. I've been told by my superior officers that this has to be investigated so we can handle whatever does happen if and when the gases are used.

As the four Rat Patrol members left the meeting and walked toward their jeeps, Tully voiced his own concerns. "So, there's no gas masks, no antitoxins, and no real idea of what exactly is there…Are we supposed to hold our breath while we check the place out?

My dad fought in World War One, and he was exposed to mustard gas. He's still got some burn scars from that, and he just barely got exposed. I don't want to be KIA that way."

Troy stopped walking, and looked at Tully. "Tully, you've been shot, stabbed, buried under buildings, showered with shrapnel, blown out of your jeep, and you're still walking around. I have trouble believing you're still with us sometimes, too! How do you explain that?"

Tully grinned, "Really good surgeons, really good teammates, and a whole lot of good luck, I guess! Plus, a strong desire to keep on living. Step #1 when I realize I've just been shot, or whatever, is telling myself to BREATHE. After that, I'm pretty dependent on you guys and the Big Guy upstairs to be around to help me, if you can."

Moffitt chimed in, "Well, that isn't going to change, Tully, no matter what the mission is.

You lead a charmed life, yes, but you are also a very skilled soldier and a very compassionate young man."

Tully pondered this for a moment. "Yeah, but my poor body has so many scars at this point, you could almost play a game of chess on me. I'm just grateful everything still works okay."

Hitch guffawed, "As long as you can still make love with your wife, you can handle just about anything!"

Tully laughed, "Yeah, you have to have priorities in life, and that is definitely one of mine! Probably one of hers, too!"

After a full day's drive, the Rat Patrol was only two miles away from the suspected gas They carefully hid the jeeps, and sat down to eat their K-ration supper.

Troy spoke, "Okay, Jack and I will take the first watch. Hitch and Tully, get some sleep.

We'll wake you both up in four hours, then you two can be on watch while we sleep.

We'll approach the site from two directions, Moffitt and Tully in one jeep, Hitch and I in the other jeep. When we reach our planned positions, we leave the jeeps behind and go in on foot. Carry as much ammo and as many grenades as you can. Do as much recon as you can, without getting caught, and return to the jeep sight two hours after you depart from the jeeps. Anything goes wrong, do not use the radios, do not use the flares, just do the best you can. Good luck and Godspeed!"

Moffitt and Tully found lots of sealed barrels in their search, but there were no identifying labels on the barrels, and nothing to indicate hazardous materials. Nothing was guarded, and there were no warning signs near the barrels, either.

Half a mile away, Troy and Hitch had a different experience. They came upon a large, one-story building with no windows. Nearby, there was a large penned area outside in the sunshine, an area that could easily hold a couple of hundred people. It was empty at the time, but as the sun began to peek over the horizon, there was a flurry of activity near the penned area.

Moffitt and Tully joined them twenty minutes later, quietly sharing their lack of findings.

"Lots of sealed metal drums, no guards, no odors that we could smell, very quiet, almost like a graveyard," said Moffitt.

"Okay," said Troy, "let's just stay here for a few hours and see if there's any more activity. Two of us on watch, and the other two get some rest. Stay alert when you're on watch. If nothing else develops, we'll head for home in six hours."

Tully and Moffitt were on watch when they saw a dozen or so German troops herding about 140 people into the building. The building doors were shut, the German troops came out and headed for the roof of the building, where they dumped the powdery contents of several of the unmarked barrels into the ventilation shafts.

Within a minute or two, Tully could hear screams coming from the building, and much wailing and crying for a few short minutes. Then there was silence, and the faint, sweet smell of gas as the troops outside finally opened the doors of the building. Moffitt, who had been eating a quick meal, looked at Tully's tear-streaked face, as he pointed to the dozens of bodies now being removed from the building. Many of the bodies were women and children, still attached to one another even in death, still with yellow stars attached to their clothing.

Moffitt sighed, "Well, there it is. The rumors are true. Tunisia has had a sizeable Jewish population for years, and it appears that the decimation of that population has begun.

I'm afraid that this may only be another chapter of the horror yet to come."

Tully looked at Moffitt, "You know, one of my Dad's sisters married a Jewish dentist in Cincinnati, about three hours from where I come from. My uncle is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He and my aunt Anne have three kids, and Uncle Joe makes sure my whole family gets good dental care. I just don't understand the meanness toward the Jews

Even Jesus was Jewish, for God's sake! My dad always told me to judge people by how they treated other people."

"Your dad sounds like a very wise and compassionate man, and he has a son who seems to take after him quite a bit," Moffitt spoke softly, patting Tully's shoulder as the tear tracks were still visible on Tully's face "Well, this solves the mystery of what the barrels are for. The bodies are being buried in the barrels, I'd say."

They left the scene, and met Troy and Hitch back at the jeeps, quietly sharing what they had seen. "Let's get the hell out of here," said Troy.

Back at their base at Ras Tanura, the Rat Patrol told Captain Boggs what they had discovered. Boggs frowned, "I was afraid of that, but there's nothing we can do at the present time. We need to maintain as much Arab cooperation as possible in fighting the Nazis, and many of the Arabs are also very hostile toward the Jews. What we might be able to do is bomb the railroads leading to the site. I realize that's only a temporary fix, but it's all we can do right now. This sort of thing is happening throughout Europe."

Tully spoke up, "Can't we rescue at least some of the people there?"

Boggs said, "No, son. We can't. That would only make the Nazis aware that we know what's going on at that site, which would very likely speed up the executions. What we can do is to continue to survey the sight, and bomb the hell out of it when it's as close to being empty as possible.

I'm not sure if the generals will agree to that, but at least they'll have the knowledge of what's happening there. They might be able to use G2 personnel to monitor the site, I hope, but until the Allies have full control of North Africa, humanitarian missions such as this have to take a back seat to planning and fighting the battles. I may not get the okay to bomb the railroad tracks, either, as we hope to make use of them ourselves very shortly.".

After Boggs dismissed them, the Rats went to the mess tent to snag some food and coffee. It was a quiet meal. Troy finally spoke up, "Go get some sleep, guys. We did what we could do. We've got two days off now, so try to enjoy it. What's going on at that camp is just one of many reasons we're fighting this war, and why we have to win it."

"Why can't people just get along?" said Tully.

Moffitt looked at him closely, "Well, history is full of both good and evil. Perhaps, we need to make sure that we stay the good guys, and don't become part of the problem."

"Do you think we can do that, Doc?" Tully asked, a note of doubt in his voice.

"It's up to all of us, Tully, each and every one of us," Moffitt said softly, "Each and every one of us."

THE END, OR IS IT JUST THE BEGINNING?…IT'S THE QUESTION OF OUR TIMES.


End file.
